Sheet metal container



Jan. 9, 1934. c. SPAETH SHEET METAL CONTAINER Filed NOV. 7. 1931 m m. wm m m 5 s M E L R n H c Y B a EH Patented Jan. 9, 1934 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to oil and grease tanks now commonly used bygarages, and service stations for dispensing automobile lubricating oilI and greases, etc., a battery of such tanks placed side by side beinggenerally employed for holding the different oils and greases ordillerent grades of these commodities.

It has been the practice to make such containers or tanks of relativelythin sheet metal, in

19 the interest of economy and reduced weight, and as a resultconsiderable trouble is experienced due to the tendency of the sidewalls of the tanks to bulge under the extremely heavy pressure, to whichthey are subjected in every day use. This 5, bulging, which occurscentrally of the side walls,

renders the tanks unsightly and furthermore interferes with theircustomary orderly even side by side placement or arrangement. In orderto prevent this bulging of the side walls, cumber- 5 some and expensiveangle iron supporting frames have been employed inside the tanks butthey are expensive and also are objectionable because of the relativelygreat amount of space which they occupy.

tank is shown without an internal brace and one each with one and twobraces respectively.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2. In carrying out myinvention, a tank 5 of rectangular shape is produced, which tank is ofusual construction with the exception that the side walls 6 are indentedthus producing panels 8 and surrounding border 9, both of rectangularshape. When a number of tanks are placed one beside the other, theborder 9 of the panels 8 will be the only point of contact betweenadjacent tanks, because the panels stiffen the side walls and preventbulging at the center, which bulging would create points of contact inthe paneled area of adjacent tanks. Consequently, according to thepresent invention, batteries of tanks can be lined up evenly, thusreducing the space occupied by the tanks, and adding to the orderlyappearance of the service station. As the rectangular tanks 5 aregenerally of much greater depth than The general object of the presentinvention is width, it follows that the front and rear or end walls 10are subjected to less pressure than the side walls 6, and therefore, donot require strengthening or bracing. However, the side panelsstrengthen and stiffen the borders 9 which in turn impart considerablerigidity to the end walls. While it has been proven in practice that thepaneled side walls 6 make it possible to eliminate the use of the bulkyand expensive frame work heretofore employed, in some instances it isdesirable to employ a simple single angle iron cross brace member 11,such as shown in the centermost tank, Figure 2. This brace is welded orotherwise suitably connected at its ends to the opposite side walls ofthe tank, at approximately the center thereof, the point where bulgingis most likely to occur. Where two braces are employed they arepreferably positioned one above the other below the mid section of thetank, as illustrated in the right hand tank 5, Figure 2.

A pump 12, of any well known and old construction mounted on the top oftank 5, communicates with the interior of the tank through a pipe 13,which is rigidly secured at its lower end to the bottom of the tank bymeans of a bracket 14.

The top wall 15 of the tank is also re-inforced or stiffened towithstand the heavy downward and tilting stresses incident to the everyday use of pump 12. Thus, the top wall is raised relatively to thedownwardly and outwardly bent edges 16 thereof.

The indentation of side walls 8 of tank 5 is dimensioned to avoidbulging of the walls of a filled unbraced tank beyond the plane ofpanels 9. This assures the proper alignment and orderly side by sideplacement or arrangement of the braced tanks previously referred to, inthe event braces are dispensed with, or where braces are employed, andbecome accidentally loosened at their point of connection with one orboth of the side walls.

The principal purpose of braces 11 is to stiffen the tank againstexcessive buckling, due either to the pressure of the liquid contents orthe inaccuracy in forming the side walls of the tank into rectangularshape. It frequently happens that the sides of the tank are slightly outof parallel and consequently when the heads and bottoms are welded inplace, the extra or superfluous metal must be crowded in one directionor another, thus causing buckling. Under such circumstances the use ofbraces 11 are employed to stifien the side walls against this bulgingaction, which otherwise would be prevented by the action of panels 8.

What I claim, is:

A rectangular sheet metal container of greater depth than width,comprising side walls having a recessed panel extending substantiallyover the 5 entire area of said walls, a cross-brace member welded at itsopposite ends to opposite side walls of said container within the areaof their panels

